


The Guardian and the Dreamer

by TruebornAlpha



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adventure, Best Friends, Boys In Love, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Dragons, Dreams, Facing Your Fears, Falling In Love, First Crush, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Indonesian mythology & folklore, Innocent love, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Kid Fic, Korean mythology & folklore, M/M, Minor Hunk/Lance (Voltron), Mythical Beings & Creatures, Spirits, two little kids with a crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 23:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7953559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TruebornAlpha/pseuds/TruebornAlpha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven year old Shiro finds himself in the land of dreams and meets a fierce little guardian spirit named Keith, who is determined to protect his heart.</p><p>A Sheith fairytale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, please leave comments! :D We wanted to stay true to Shiro and Keith's background, so this story is inspired by the myths and folktales from East and South-East Asia.
> 
> You can find Dans on tumblr [here](http://nevertrustastilesthing.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Rune's tumblr is [ here](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com)

When Shiro was seven, his father told him a story. It was a story about a land that looked very much like their own and not at all. A land that was very far away and as close to Shiro as his own heart. A land of endless possibilities, where the sky and earth shared the same breath. A land Shiro knew only from legends, with her Ladyship’s pearls, the Cloud Country, the Feast of Explosions, and the Great Goddess of Many Faces. 

The In Between.

Separated from the world they knew by a heavy veil, the In Between danced just beyond the waking sight. It flitted between the space of a blink, lingering in the corner of your eye, but sometimes the veil lifted. Not by much, just enough for the dancing lights of fireflies to squeeze through. If you were lucky, they brought the empty minds of dreamers with them. Children more than the rest of them. Their hearts were light enough for the fireflies to bear twice over.

The In Between was where dreams came from, his father promised with a conspiratorial wink. He had Shiro hanging on his every word, spellbound and happy to be.

It was his fault that every night for a week, Shiro went out into their garden with a jar in hand to catch as many fireflies as he could under his mother’s watchful eye. He hunted until his legs felt like they would fall off. Then she laughed as she gathered him into her arms and carried him to bed. Tucked into his sheets and warm pajamas, Shiro unlatched the his lid of his jar, letting the dancing lights fly free and waited with bated breath for them to take him away. 

Night after night, Shiro tried, but night after night, the In Between remained elusive.

His attention waned. His doubts grew heavy and hope came in weaker bursts. Until one night, on a night like any other, Shiro closed his eyes, and woke up beyond the veil.

Smoke swirled into the sky above him, bringing with it the scent of juniper. For a moment, Shiro thought it was blurring out the stars, only to realize it wasn’t stars that he watched, but fireflies skipping across the night sky to fight for their place in the Heavens.

Then a pale face with big round eyes filled his vision. They both screamed.

The strange spirit child shoved Shiro, and the boy did the only thing he could think of. He shoved the spirit back. The ashen creature stumbled and landed hard on his backside with a yelp. “Ow, that  _hurt!_ ”

Shiro was immediately apologetic, kneeling by the other’s side and helping him stand, even if he got no gratitude for his trouble. They watched each other warily.

The shock of black hair was the spirit’s most prominent feature followed by even darker eyes and a mouth twisted in a thoughtful frown. He wore armor from some ancient war, shrunk down enough to fit his small frame. His shoulders and back were protected by burnished gold arranged like dragon scales. Beneath the plates, he wore a deep red robe, lined with furs for warmth, and the ensemble was tied with a blue cloth belt wrapped round and round his tiny waist. A helmet perched on his head, though it was much too big for the little spirit, fur flaps hanging down by his ears as the metal twisted up into a point on top of his head.

He shimmered, a pale being that blended into the mist around him and blurred around the edges like he could disappear into nothing or shift his form at any moment. The only solid thing in the In Between was Shiro himself, skin glowing bright like the fireflies that had led him here, fascinating the little spirit who hovered close like a moth drawn to his light.

But the spirit’s curiosity bested caution, and ghostly hands reached out to pluck against Shiro’s skin. 

“What are you?”

“I’m Shiro?” The boy replied, staring with wide eyes as the little spirit leaned closer.

“I’ve never heard of a Shiro before. What kind of spirit is that?”

“Spirit? I’m not a spirit, I’m a boy.”

The little warrior gasped, drawing back and brandishing a sharp blue-steel dagger that looked almost as big as a sword in his tiny grip. “Is that some kind of demon? Demons aren’t allowed here!”

“I am not a demon!” Shiro said indignantly. “I didn’t mean to come here, I don’t even know where here is. Or who you are.”

The spirit puffed himself up, too-big helmet sliding down his face before he shoved it back and struck a threatening pose with his knife. “I’m the Kogane Guardian Spirit. I’m the most fearsome warrior in all the land.”

“Oh. What do you guard?”

Kogane deflated, pouting furiously. “Nothing yet, I haven’t found my family, but I will. I’m going to be assigned to the best, bravest line of warriors and protect their ancestors. I will!”

Shiro snickered, only to be soundly chastised by Kogane’s unhappy scowl. With a hand on his arm, he promised. “I’m sorry. I bet you’ll make a great guardian. Can I be a guardian, too?”

“No,” the little spirit huffed. Shiro thought the spirit was more vehement than he deserved, but he shrugged it off. “You’re not even one of the Faded. I don’t know what you are.”

Before Shiro could plead his case, the sound of clear, sharp bells drew his attention as easily as it did his new friend. Someone was coming. Every step the stranger took sang with a graceful melody, as if her very being was an instrument, if the stranger even was a woman. They wore long flowing skirts, as pink as the breaking of dawn that billowed with every step. The long sleeves of their white shirt ended in bright red, while a thick brown sash wrapped around their upper torso, pinning a sky blue vest. Their features shimmered, never long enough for Shiro to map, but just enough that he could catch a sweetly painted smile. In one hand, they held a long bamboo flute that almost surpassed the length of their arm, while the other rested on Kogane’s shoulder.

“Come now, guardian. Young Master Dreamer shouldn’t walk the path of the Faded before his time.” They tilted their head in polite acknowledgement, and Shiro wondered at how even their voice sounded like a song.

“A Dreamer? But I found him, I have to take care of him,” Kogane insisted, surprising Shiro by stepping closer. “He’ll get lost. He doesn’t know The Way. Or, any of them?”

He sent Shiro a dubious look, then laced their fingers together with such open concern that Shiro’s heart went out to him. “Please, we won’t fall behind.”

His sword remained poised as if he expected he’d have to prove his word, but the other spirit only laughed, and something in Shiro’s chest soared. For a moment, he almost couldn’t breathe, filled with the glory of song, but the musician was generous when they smiled. “Come along then, but tread carefully, lest you overburden the fireflies.”

Shiro gasped, then bowed low, like he’d only seen his father do in the presence of his grandmother. “We won’t! We promise!”

Then Kogane was pulling him along, a bright smile playing across his features as he ran, and Shiro had to smile too. All at once they came across a great procession. Shiro swore they’d barely crossed a few yards. The dancing lights above their head didn’t seem to have moved, but time and space were different in the In Between.

The procession was a sea of movement, made up of more spirits than he could count, not that he ever got the chance. Kogane was pulling him towards an enormous lion and wouldn’t stop until they were seated side by side across the massive beast, their heels tucked into its mane. From there, Shiro could see everything, and it left him speechless.

Rows and rows of travelers filled the grasslands. The brightest of them walked at the fringes, playing songs and dancing with their many masks. There was no shortage of guardians, Shiro could spot them with their pointed hats as they walked among the entertainers, some atop other powerful steeds. The entertainers came in all maner of dress and shimmering colorful light, brilliant musicians, unbelievable acrobats, and heart-stopping singers. There were other sorts between them, but they held neither sword nor instrument though they glowed just as brightly as their partners with gentle caring smiles on their faces.

The Faded were carried along with the procession and Shiro recognized their human faces so different than the shifting spirits. They hobbled as if they were lost, gently guided by the more energetic spirits who offered relief and kindness.

Then Kogane pinched him.

Shiro yelped so hard, he almost fell, Kogane had the good sense to look sheepish, rubbing the abused spot with a careful touch. “I’m sorry. I never met a Dreamer before. I expected you to be bigger for the fireflies to complain so much.”

“I’m not small, you’re the small one.” Shiro retorted, winning a scandalized gasp from the little guardian spirit and pinched him right back. They squirmed and shoved on the tame lion until the sound of ritual drums silenced them and they stopped to let a somber procession pass.

A great man in silk robes was flanked by beautiful dancers who whirled in the mist, trailing bright ribbons behind them in shifting colors. Warriors took their place as an honor guard, wearing the same scaled armor as the little guardian, but in bright greens and reds. Their weapons flashed, faces human one moment and terribly fierce monsters with sharp tusks the next. Shiro gasped, drawing back like he could hide from their attention, but Kogane just laughed.

“It looks like a brave warrior has joined the Faded. Don’t worry, the guardians are there to make sure he gets safely to his destination. They only fight bad spirits and demons, they won’t hurt a Dreamer like you.”

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked, unconvinced as Kogane waved his knife wildly.

“I’ll make sure of it! Us guardians are here to protect the Faded and their families. Those warriors have been watching over that family for generations and protect their ancestors’ spirits once they die, and someday, I will too.” He puffed his chest out proudly and Shiro giggled, fear draining away.

“That man is really dead?”

“Of course, the fireflies bring all the spirits of the dead to us. And you too, of course.” He plucked Shiro’s moon-brightened skin with a smile. “I’ve never seen a Dreamer before. I’ve heard that they can sometimes follow the fireflies, but I had no idea they’d be so bright. Humans are such strange beings.”

“Well, I think guardians are strange too.” Shiro leaned against the other boy, watching the tiny dancing lights out over the misty waters of the lake that lapped along their path. He wasn’t sure if they were the fireflies beckoning him back, or the lanterns of another procession way out on its smooth, glass surface.

“If I’m dreaming, then that means I can’t stay. I have to go home again.”

The little spirit was silent for a moment, refusing to let go of his newfound friend. “Will you remember me? The Faded don’t always remember much of their lives in your world.”

“I hope so.” Dreams were flighty things and Shiro couldn’t promise that he’d be able to hold onto the mist covered In Between or even the shifting details of Kogane’s face. The mouth he tried to remember, turned down into a thoughtful frown. The eyes that looked into his as if he was the one with answers, glittering black like ebony wood.

The little spirit smiled and Shiro felt sure he would remember that much. “Then I will give you a gift. That way you’ll have to remember me!” He pulled off his helmet and reached inside, pulling out a small carved figure of a warrior sitting astride a great lion.

For a moment, Shiro was shocked into silence. The figurine had a bright smile beneath its stern brow, and he could see too clearly who had inspired its carving.

“You got even littler!” He teased. “What else do you have in your hat?”

Kogane scowled, arms crossed over his chest, his hat held defensively like a misshapen shield. “If you don’t want it, give it back.”

“No!” Shiro blurted out, drawing the guardian’s token closer. “No, I like it. I really like it!”

He wanted to prove how much. Kogane still looked doubtful, but before he could find the words, a long, mournful groan echoed through the night, like a broken heart granted voice. So sorrowful was its plea, the fireflies flickered and fled and the mist seemed to thicken.

Both boys jumped, clinging to each other until they remembered they were supposed to be brave and broke apart guiltily. Kogane waved his small knife at the mist like he could drive it back.

“What was that?” Shiro asked breathlessly as the little spirit squinted.

“Probably a demon.” He said nonchalantly, trying to show that he wasn’t terrified down to his little armored boots. “If it’s a demon, don’t worry! I’ll protect you.”

The moan sounded again and Kogane gulped, knife wavering slightly. Shiro reached out and patted the guardian’s arm. “If it’s a demon, then I’ll protect you too. They can’t eat both of us, right?” Unless it was an especially large demon and then it might even be able to swallow the lion too.

Their mount crept forward through the fog, following the mournful cries as the boys braced themselves for an attack that never came.

Shiro didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t this.

Beyond the mist swirled shadows as thick as smoke and as black as tar. Yet Shiro could see through them, watched them dance around a form he could almost recognize. He saw long thick hair, the edges of what could have been a uniform, tattered and burned. In the center of it all, he could see the woman’s lungs, darker somehow than the shadows that clung to her before she lost form with another, broken howl. Yet something by her legs shimmered with light, wrapped around where her feet would be.

Kogane shocked him by putting away his sword, and sliding of his great lion’s back. He padded closer, looking around with a pinched, unhappy expression that smoothed away when he addressed the Faded.

“Are you here alone?” The little spirit asked, afraid but only in the way of one meeting an unfamiliar face for the first time.

A horrid wail rocked rippled through the air, leaving it colder where it passed as the ground shook beneath their feet. Still the guardian would not back down.

Flames dripped from empty eyes like tears, pooling around the woman and burning with an eerie blue light. Her skin was charred, the mist around her thick and smelling more like smoke than the clean night air. Shiro slipped off the lion and crept beside the guardian, ready to have the spirit together even though he had no weapon to help.

“What’s wrong with her?” He whispered and Kogane glanced over at Shiro, the human’s life glowing like a lantern and bright enough to drive the smoke back.

“She’s lost.” Kogane said gently as the ghostly fire encircled the spirit. “Some of the Faded aren’t ready to take this journey. They don’t know the way and they weren’t sent with anyone to guide them. They’re trapped here.” He gestured to thin lines of gold, sharp to the touch and almost insubstantial. Yet they bound the spirit like heavy chains.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Shiro’s fear was gone, replaced with sorrow as he knelt by the flickering ring of fire by the spirit’s side.

“Those are her own memories holding her, she’s the only one who can free herself.”

All at once an inferno burst from her core, spouting long tongues of fire, and the guardian sprung into action, pushing Shiro behind him. His blade parried the blaze, drawing it in with an eerie light that reflected off of the scoured metal of his armor. His feet never touched the ground, each block and thrust as languid as a dancing flame. His lion roared in approval, the sound loud enough to rock the Heavens.

Kogane fought with everything he had, but Shiro realized with dawning horror that the Faded’s grief only grew as the fight progressed. He wouldn’t lose his friend. He couldn’t leave him behind. Shiro rushed forward and pulled the woman into a hug.  

The smoke was intoxicating, and heat almost too much to bear. Flames licked up his arms, but they only prickled where they touched, and for a moment, there was silence. When he looked up, he saw a woman in the prime of her life, proudly toting a fire fighters uniform.  _Just like my sister_ , she said in the way of a dream, never moving her lips, but Shiro understood all the same. Tears prickled in his eyes as she touched his cheek, as gentle as a butterfly’s kiss.  _Is he safe? Is Gramps safe?_

Gramps. Somehow, Shiro knew he wasn’t an old man.

Kogane nodded, stunned and scrambling for his words. A Dreamer comforting a Faded one, he’d never seen anything like it before. “He’s okay, you saved him. They’re all okay.”

“I left them.” The woman’s voice trembled as she cupped Shiro’s face with a sad smile. “We were a team and I left them. I couldn’t leave them behind when they need me.”

“I-It’s okay.” Shiro didn’t know how to help, he’d never seen a lost and troubled spirit before, but she’d been human once and he knew about loss. She even looked more human now, whole and unburned even though embers flickered in her hair. She was dim, light didn’t shine from her the way it did from Shiro’s skin, but she was beautiful. The little boy hugged her again, ignoring the heat from her crown of flames.

The golden strands binding the spirit in place broke into drops of light, her grief and worry lifting with the boys’ reassurances. She bowed her thanks to them both and disappeared as Shiro gasped.

“Where did she go?”

But even as he spoke, the mist seemed to thicken. Shiro spun on his heel, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman or his new friend, only to find them surrounded by spirits in long cream robes. Their long hair was smoothed back so tightly, Shiro thought it was painted on, and pulled into a simple, thick braid. Homely features smiled down at him, the wide sleeves of their robes brought in front of their chests, hiding their hands. They were chanting, in a soft, soothing murmur that made his eyes feel heavy.

Not entertainers. Not guardians. Caregivers, and one of them had come to guide the woman away.

“Kogane…?” He asked around a yawn. “Kogane where are you?”

But the dream was already fading.

When Shiro woke, he was tucked into bed, clinging to his pillows, more relaxed then when he’d gone to sleep. Two days later, his mother found a tiny wooden figurine in his pajama pants, and from then on, Shiro wouldn’t let it go far.

 


	2. Chapter 2

When Shiro was eight, Shiro dreamed of an endless sea, with white sandy beaches that scratched under a great lion’s paw and waves that foamed fluff when they crashed against the shore.

The Kogane Guardian Spirit laughed at his side, pressed against him like a ray of sun, his helmet as lopsided as his smile. “Tell me more, tell me more. What’s a Kazuya? Like a Shiro?”

Shiro bristled. “Yes? I mean no! It’s a name. It’s just a name of a thing. We’re not the same? Like we’re both, we’d both be Dreamers, but we’re not? Don’t Faded have names? What do you call them?”

“We call them Faded,” Kogane shrugged. “They always forget what they are first. You can’t carry much when you come here.” He spoke like Shiro should already have known.

“Well, why do they call you Kogane?”

“No one calls me that, only you.” For some reason, that made Shiro grin, until his friend poked his armor. “Look. It’s Kogane. I’m gold!”

“Is that your name or what you are?”

“I don’t understand.” The little spirit scowled, irritated that he was so confused. “That doesn’t make sense. Do I have a Dreamer name?”

“I thought it was Kogane. Why, do you want a human name?”

He brightened considerably, nodding so hard his too-big helmet tilted down over his face and he had to push it back. “Give me a good one, one that’s different from any of the other guardians you know.”

“Well, you’re my first guardian, so it’ll be a name just for you.” Shiro teased, thinking hard. What would be a good name? He’d never given anything a name before, not really. Toys probably didn’t count and his mother said they didn’t have room for a dog no matter how much he’d begged. “How about…Keith.”

“Keith.” The sprit rolled the name around his mouth, trying it on for size. “Is that a good one? You promised.”

“I think it’s a good one? It suits you.”

“Alright then, Keith!” The spirit whooped, waving his little knife at the perfect, topical blue sky. The air was warm and tasted of salt and sweet flowers. The beach stretched on as far as they could see, dotted with little coves where the lapping waves grew calm and still. Lush green plants burst from the shore, reaching towards the ocean and decorated with giant blooms that glittered like jewels. Beautiful multi-colored creatures dashed between the leaves and Shiro thought they must be tiny birds, but the spirit creatures wouldn’t hold still long enough for him to see.

Even under the bright sun, Shiro’s skin glowed with its own light.

“Where are we?” He asked as the lion patiently plodded its way through the white sand.

“The ocean.” Keith said like it was obvious. “Your world must be very strange if you don’t even have the ocean.”

“Of course we have oceans! But which one?” Shiro huffed, but it was Keith who threw his hands in the air.

“Don’t tell me your oceans have names, too.”

He looked so annoyed, Shiro almost burst out laughing, but in that moment, the shore receded and a large powerful wave rose up from the middle of the ocean. It arched above his mighty lion before smacking Keith in the face, throwing the little spirit down. Shiro shrieked, jumping off the lion and searching desperately for his only friend. A voice stopped him in his tracks.

“You’re  _late.”_

Shiro swiveled around to notice an angry looking boy, with smooth dark skin and a petulant frown. He sat in the middle of the water, arms crossed over his chest, scowling with his entire face. He almost missed the fine scales that rose along his arms and throat, to pepper along his ears. When he moved, Shiro realized he wasn’t sitting in the middle of the ocean, he was swimming, and just beneath the water, light reflected over countless brilliant scales, each twinkling like stars in the deep blue.

He sounded a lot less grumpy when he spoke to Shiro though. “Who’re you? Are you metal head’s lion food?”

“No, I’m Shiro! I’m a…a Dreamer?”

The merboy swam closer to get a better look, letting the blue-green waves carry him to shore. Shiro wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything so beautiful. Instead of legs, the boy had a tail of deep iridescent blues and bright jeweled turquoise that shimmered as he moved. The merboy grinned, catching Shiro’s expression.

“A real Dreamer, I’ve never seen one of your kind before. Hey bucket brain, how’d you get so lucky? Couldn’t have been your personality.”

Keith fumed, ringing out his robe. “He’s  _my_  Dreamer, so back off. And I’m not a bucket brain! I even have a real Dreamer name now, it’s Keith.”

The merboy scowled and splashed the little guardian with enough sea water to make him sputter. “I want a Dreamer name too and I’m way better than this old rusty bucket. I’m one of her Ladyship’s retainers, she rules the entire ocean. That’s way more impressive than a guardian with no one to guard.”

Shiro tried not to laugh, but Keith’s soggy outrage and the merboy’s bright smile was too much and he giggled, bare feet hitting the sand as he joined the other two. “Okay, if you want a name that badly, how about Lance? Because you’re full of barbs.”

“Ooooh, I like that. Lance!” He splashed Keith again who roared in anger, trying to chase Lance into the ocean as the laughing merboy ducked between the waves.

“Quit fooling around!” Lance’s voice seemed to carry from all over the endless sea. “The pearls started jumping. You know you’re late!”

Keith huffed, but he drew himself up to his full height, and to Shiro’s surprise, he apologized. It was tense and but sharp, but no less sincere. Lance seemed placated, and for once, he didn’t push his advantage. Keith twined his fingers with Shiro’s, tugging him closer with gentle insistence.

“Take us to the pearls.” The guardian asked, and their guide dove under water.

Shiro only caught a glimpse of his wandering tail, but there was no chance he would get lost. Keith wouldn’t let go of his hand. They walked along the shore, soft sand catching between his toes while the guardian’s heavy boots didn’t leave a single print in their wake.

“Where are we going?”

“To the pearl beds.” Shiro scowled at the back of Keith’s head, but he didn’t let go of his hand. “We have to collect their spirits.”

“But why?” Shiro asked. “I thought that was what fireflies were for.”

“Fireflies can’t go everywhere.”

“Is that why you won’t go with them?”

“No,” Keith snorted. “I’m too light.”

“But-”

“There! Come on, Shiro!” And then the little spirit took off in a run, splashing his way to a shallow cove where Lance was waiting for them. Just beneath the water, Shiro could see what looked like thick, bright stones, twice as tall as him and almost twice as thick. They were hidden among bright corals, no less sparkly than precious stones.

The merboy watched him with interest, and to Shiro’s side, Keith was carefully undoing his armor.

“Careful, Little Dreamer,” Lance teased. “You have to hold your breath or you’ll lose it all.”

“I know how to swim.” Shiro said, rolling up the legs of his pajama pants and wadding out into the warm water. Keith followed a moment later and the two boys laughed as the paddled out to the merboy who swam circles around them both. No matter how Shiro tried to keep up, Lance was just too fast, born to the water and racing around them excitedly.

Keith sputtered when Lance sent a splash in his direction and frowned. “We should start. The Faded have waited long enough.”

“I don’t understand. I thought that the Faded walked in those processions?”

“Awww, didn’t you tell Shiro anything?” Lance teased, using the human’s name like it was a gift. “That’s one way that the Faded take, but there’s lots of ways. They all take their own journeys! These Faded are those who died out at sea. They gave their whole lives to her Ladyship. They’d never get back to land without us. Her Ladyship’s oceans are so vast.”

Shiro’s jaw dropped in surprised, filled with pity for the poor lost souls who must have drowned far from home. “That’s terrible! But we can help them, right?”

“Of course.” Lance flicked his tail. “We just have to help free them. Those they leave behind don’t always want to let go, and they get wrapped up in the mortal world holding them back. And sometimes they have a gift for her Ladyship before they move on.”

“Holding them back?”

“See those shrouds?” Keith gestured to the smooth stones, and Shiro nodded. Only this close, he could see them for what they really were, tightly wound pieces of cloth. “They come when their old lives try to trap them. We have to cut them free.” He explained, holding out his sword, but after a moment, he pressed it into Shiro’s hand with a smile. It felt as light as a single sheet of paper and infinitely more fragile, but Shiro had seen it cut through flames. He cradled it to his chest, nodding seriously under Keith’s intense gaze, and the guardian smiled back at them.

Shiro sent a quick glance at the figures beneath them. “But what if they don’t want them cut?”

“They always do.” The guardian said, and the solemn cadence of his voice made Shiro look away, his heart constricting painfully. “It’s only the living that ever want them bound. The living make them stay, without any care for what they need.”

“Then it’s on to the Cloud Country,” Lance murmured, more wistful than anything Shiro had ever heard.

“The Cloud Country’s real?”

“What does a fish but know about the Cloud Country?” Keith sniffed haughtily.

“I know tons of things about it, helmet head! I’ll be the first of her Ladyship’s retainers to make the journey just you wait.”

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but beneath them, one of the long shrouded slabs danced, swaying in the sea like it was made of liquid itself, and he straightened.

“Yikes, catch it!”

The three boys chased the jumping spirit that bounced itself out of the shallow waters. The spirit wiggled, trapped inside of its shroud and leading them from one end of the small lagoon to the other. Lance laughed, making a dive for the spirit and missed, smacking into Keith and knocking them both back into the pool.

Shiro paddled as fast as he could, grabbing the spirit around its middle and sent them both tumbling into the shallows. It flopped and struggled, trying to get free as Shiro tugged at the ties of its shroud. With one quick slice from the knife he’d taken from Keith, the fabric parted and the man trapped inside sat up suddenly.

A perfect peach pearl rolled from his chest and Shiro scrambled to catch it as the spirit burst free from its shroud with a bright laugh, shaking water droplets from his hair as he gave the boys a salute. There was a small group from their procession waiting for him, and a musician with a pear shaped lute reached out for him. Shiro watched him float all the way to the shore and never let go of the pearl.

“Good job! I told you, you were late, helmet head. They've been waiting for too long.” Lance swam over to see Shiro’s prize as Keith dragged his soggy self up to the beach. “And you caught his wish!” He held out his hands as Shiro carefully turned over the pearl. “Her Ladyship will love this. She collects their last wishes and sends them back to your world where people can make them come true.”

It almost hurt to look at. Smoother than silk, the pearl was a perfect circle that sat in the middle of Shiro’s palm. It glowed with an ethereal light, like holding the moon itself.

Lance made it disappear with a wink, though to where Shiro didn’t know, and beside them, Keith harumphed loudly. “We’re not done yet.”

One by one, they released the spirits. They worked until the sky turned pink and the waters grew colder. Meanwhile, more and more of the procession of spirits had gathered at the shore. Guardians and caregivers and entertainers in their many flowing robes and beaten armor plates welcomed the new additions to their number.

Finally, they pulled themselves out of the water.  Keith sat on the beach, hugging his knees close to his chest, Shiro moved next to him to return his sword. The little spirit accepted it without a word. There was a look of open longing across his features, and Shiro wished he could make it go away. “Were any of those spirits looking for a guardian?” He asked hopefully. “I know a really good one.”

“No.” Keith said, tracing his toe in the sand. He looked disheveled, damp hair clinging to the back of his neck and sadly soggy. He twisted the helmet between his hands, trying to shake it free from the last of the sand that had gotten inside. “Everyone has their own guardian, caregiver, and entertainer, they’ve claimed those families centuries ago. There’s no one left for me.”

Shiro sat down beside the dripping spirit and wrapped his arms around his friend and held him tight. “You’re going to be the best guardian, Keith. Don’t worry, you’re going to find the perfect family to protect and you’ll be very brave. It’s okay to wait a little bit.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He said, leaning against Shiro with a small sigh. The Dreamer was warm and solid, unlike anything Keith had ever felt before. It was reassuring and he couldn’t help but smile. “And we helped a lot of people today.”

“We sure did, bucket brain.” Lance swam over and pulled a face at Keith. “You did good. You know, I’m working on making it all the way to the Cloud Country, there might be someone there who could help you. They know all the answers to every question ever asked, you can find out who you’re supposed to protect.”

Keith kicked up a splash of water, scowling extra hard in a way that only Lance could make him. “Nu-uh, I’ve been there a billion times. The only one up there’s the Tea Maker.”

It should not have surprised Shiro that the merboy could be so loud

“WHAT!?” Lance demanded, so red in the face, Shiro was worried he’d pop. “You’ve met the Tea Maker!? Impossible!”

“Everyone’s met the Tea Maker.” Keith said, but Shiro strongly suspected he only said that to see how angry he could make Lance. He flicked the guardian’s ear, pressing his cheek insistently against his soggy locks.

“I’ve never met the Tea Maker.” Shiro butted in, before Keith could look too smug. “What’re they like?”

“They’re  _amazing._  They know everything, and they’re super cool, like the coolest, you don’t even know,” Lance said, holding a hand up to Keith’s face to cut the guardian off before he could think about responding. “But uh…” His eyes strayed towards the heavens. “That’s a tale for another time.”

The skies had darkened, and with the night came the dancing lights of fireflies. Keith’s embrace tightened, and Shiro burrowed in.

Water rose in a powerful column around Lance, rising him above the sea until he was at eye-level with the pair before he bowed deeply. “Be careful, Dreamer. If you get much bigger, you won’t come back.”

“W-what?” He stuttered, looking at Keith in a panic and tightening his arms around him. “Is that true?”

“I won’t let that happen.” Keith said, his voice muffled in Shiro’s shoulder.

Someday he would be too big to be a Dreamer, too old to believe in magic and spirits. There wouldn’t be any way back to the In Between until he died, and then he’d forget everything about what he was. It meant he would lose Keith someday and there was no way Shiro could let that happen. “You’re my friend and I won’t leave you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” He pulled away and smiled, turning back to the merboy. “Thank you for letting us help you today.” Shiro said and gave Lance a bow. Keith scowled and shoved Shiro over before he could.

“You don’t need to do that to him!”

Lance flicked his tail and caught Keith right in the face as he laughed. “You’re welcome, Little Dreamer. And don’t forget, sometimes it’s important to let things go. Like maybe a rusty little bucket head, ha!”

The laughter followed Shiro all the way home, but when he woke up, the little boy huddled into his blankets, terrified, for no reason that he could remember, that he was going to lose something very important.

 


	3. Chapter 3

When Shiro was nine, he dreamed of a vast mountain range that spread farther than his eyes could see. The air was thin and his breath misted in front of his face even if the chill never quite pierced his skin. In his dream, he was falling, and he was falling quickly.

He screamed and screamed, the clouds failing to catch him as the tall mountain walls rushed past on either side. His hands beat against their side, trying to find purchase, until a pair of small hands plucked him out of the sky and into his arms.

The Kogane Guardian wouldn’t let go.

“Shiro!”

Keith wrapped himself around the little boy, and suddenly they were atop his powerful lion, swaying with every step as they huddled in his mane. The guardian plucked his helmet off and placed it on Shiro’s head as he moved closer, until Shiro’s back pressed against his chest.

“You have to be careful. We’re in the ceiling of the world, and here, everything can bleed. The only difference now is that the gods bleed white.” He sent a meaningful glance at the mountain peaks that raised above them, so high that they pierced the heavens. They were covered in sheets of pure white, and Shiro shuddered, soundly intimidated.

Then Keith took Shiro’s hands in his own and examined them unhappily before leaning in and licking at his palm, one on each hand. “There. They’ll heal better now.”

“Ew!” Shiro yelped, but only for a moment before he threw his arms around the other boy. “Keith, I missed you so much. I just couldn’t find the way back!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you now.” The little guardian said proudly as the lion swooped through the sky. “You won’t lose your way while you’re with me.”

Shiro beamed, reclining against his friends and trying to hug him tight through all the burnished gold armor. “Where are we going?”

“Can’t you guess” Keith teased, but gently, and he tightened his grip where Shiro couldn’t. He pointed to a fat fluffy cloud that seemed to bob and soar with their lion. “We’re on our way to the Cloud Country! The lion knows the way. If we talk to the Tea Maker, then he might be able to tell me about who I’m supposed to protect.”

“Is he really that wise?” Lance had said that the Tea Maker knew the answer to every question ever asked. “Maybe I could ask him about how to find my own way here without the fireflies, then I could visit you any time I like.”

“Yeah!” Keith cheered and the lion roared in agreement. “He should know that, he knows all the ways here.”

Keith’s enthusiasm was infectious and Shiro found himself laughing, reaching out to trail his fingers through the clouds that trailed around him. Gods’ blood or not, they felt warm and fluffy as he reached for him. “This is beautiful. What do you call these mountains?”

“Oh don’t start that again,” Keith huffed, and Shiro let himself be distracted, feeling the other boy tuck his face into his shoulder. It shouldn’t have been possible, but dreaming of the In Between almost felt as safe as coming home, and with the guardian at his back, Shiro could guess why.

Beneath them, along the meandering paths of the mountain, Shiro could see the procession of Faded and their spirit guides. Even in the distance, the entertainers’ cheerful melodies could be heard, flitting through the sky where even birds’ wings could not, and Shiro hummed along with it.

Soon, they weren’t the only ones among the clouds. Great, powerful beasts filled the skies, war horses and mighty oxen, and sly foxes and majestic fire birds. They floated higher and higher, until Keith took Shiro’s hand and urged him forward.

“Shiro look!”

He caught only a flicker at first, as quick as a flash of lightning, but the clouds parted one by one, and what Shiro saw took his breath away.

Nestled between the highest peaks of the mountains was a lush valley filled with wonders that he’d never seen. Flowers bloomed with such bright colors that he could see them from the skies. Magnificent temples rose above the canopy of unfamiliar trees, their roofs rising in concentric arcs, one atop the other, the tallest of which threatened to outdo the mountains. The streets were paved with a thousand different colored stones, from all the corners of the world, and shared their routes with gentle rivers that hid bottomless depths, fed by tiny springs that claimed all the corners of the valley.

One by one the guardians landed from the skies, while entertainers beat their drums and blew their flutes and sang their songs, each tune warmed by the chanting of countless caregivers. Shiro watched, fascinated by the display and eager to watch the Faded find their place in the city, but Keith was still moving.

“Come on, if we’re lucky, the Tea Maker won’t be busy. He doesn’t always have time for guests.”

Shiro expected they’d make their way to the highest temple, but the lion flew right past it. Shiro only caught a glimpse of the temple’s occupants with their painted masks before they found a little wooden hut, hidden in its shadows.

“Now you have to be polite to him.” Keith whispered, slipping off the lion and helping Shiro down to the ground. The lion ignored the boys, only too happy to curl up to sleep in the Tea Maker’s garden. “He’s very smart, he knows lots of stuff.”

“I’m always polite.” Shiro snarked back, pushing Keith’s helmet lower on his own head and scowling down at his friend in a perfect imitation. “I’m the Kogane Guardian and I say everyone has to follow the rules.”

“Hey!” Keith made a grab for the helmet, his scowl matching Shiro’s when he realized his friend was taller than him now. When had that happened? Dreamers grew so fast. Shiro relented with a smile, handing the helmet back and slinging his arm around the other boy.

“I’m just teasing. I’ll be very nice to the Tea Maker and we’ll make you a real guardian, just you wait.”

Keith cheered slightly, it was hard when Shiro’s light shone so bright.

The little shack was bigger than it looked from the outside. Thin paper walls glowed with the warm light within and both boys respectfully removed their shoes before sliding open the door. They hadn’t taken a single step inside before they were both grabbed and pulled into a giant hug by another boy their own age. He was stocky and round with a wide smile and dark skin, hugging them both like they were long lost friends.

“Welcome! I was hoping I’d get visitors tonight. Come in, I made snacks.” He chatted animatedly, pushing up the long sleeves of his cream colored robes. A darker belt was wrapped around his middle; almost comically large, it threatened to turn its wearer into a barrel, but the Tea Maker moved with a surreal grace. Tucked into the belt was a tiny silk handkerchief, and if Shiro looked at it for too long, he swore its silver designs started to swirl.

The Tea Maker ushered them into a small sitting room, homey and clean with a pot of boiling water already bubbling away. Keith and Shiro knelt as the other boy settled himself behind the low table.

“Are you the Tea Maker?” Shiro asked hesitantly. He’d been expecting some wise old man meditating on top of a mountain somewhere, not a cheery kid who pushed a plate of cookies insistently towards them.

“Mmhmm, though I’m good at making things beside tea too. Try those almond cookies, they’re some of my favorites. Oh! And you can call me Hunk.”

“You have a Dreamer name!” Keith gaped at the Tea Maker who just laughed.

“So do you, little guardian, or so I’ve heard. One given by our Shiro here? Dreamers like to name things. Our world is a reflection of theirs, all of their ideas and places and thoughts change the shape of our country. And what can I say? They call me many things, but I like Hunk.”

Shiro almost pointed out that it wasn’t a  _real_  name, but Keith had stars in his eyes, and Hunk was watching him with a seemingly harmless little smile. Even at nine, Shiro was smart enough to know when to pick his battles. “I like Hunk, too.” His guardian beamed up at him with such pride that Shiro nearly went scarlet. He jammed a cookie in his face to buy himself some time. “Um. We met one of her Ladyship’s retainers, and he said you knew all the answers to everything.”

“Oh, really?” Hunk asked, leaning in with all of a school boy’s manners.

Keith snorted. “Yeah, after he went on and on about how he was gonna find the Cloud Country. Can you believe it?”

The guardian met Hunk’s gaze, and abruptly lowered his eyes, mumbling an apology with an aborted bow. Hunk appeared unfazed, helping himself to a cookie, his smile just as pleasant as ever. “He said that, huh? He’d climb all the way up here?”

“He said he’d be the first one,” Shiro pointed out slowly. “Do you think he’ll make it?”

“Who knows?” Hunk shrugged, but he looked pleased. Keith exchanged a look with Shiro, his mouth pinched like he needed to physically hold back his tongue, but Shiro held up his hands in surrender. Hunk cut them off before they could even get stated. “I know you guys have questions, but I’m kinda gonna need a hand out there, if that’s cool?”

“Oh. Yeah!” Keith said, getting this feet too readily, as Hunk made half the plate of cookies disappear into the folds of his sleeve. That pleased look only got worse.

“Just out back. The tea needs collecting. Can you make sure Young Master Shiro doesn’t try anything he shouldn’t?”

Keith looked like he was about to step into battle, nodding solemnly by Shiro’s side, his hand on the Dreamer’s shoulder. Hunk considered them for a long time, then plucked another cookie off the plate. “You guys can have the rest!”

He ran off with a skip, bare feet tapping against the smooth wood floor. Keith waited until he was out of sight before tugging on Shiro’s arm. “You’re not allowed to eat anything we see in the yard, okay? That’s only for the Faded.”

“I’m not five,” Shiro huffed. But Keith only gave him a blank stare.

“Five what?”

They needled each other all the way out of the building, following a maze of thin corridors past more rooms than the hut should have fit. Shiro caught a glimpse of dancing lights hiding behind paper partitions and moving shadows of creatures that shouldn’t exist, but Keith seemed to know exactly where he was going.

They ended up in a large field. Meters and meters of mats were set out in five long rows, each one baring a different colored herb, left out to dry.

Shiro breathed in the air, thin and misty, spiced with the drying herbs. There was something about it that felt pure and he pulled in great lungfuls until Keith poked him between the ribs and made him laugh. He’d never seen these plants before, they didn’t look like any tea in his mother’s cupboard. He lifted one golden leaf and studied how the shimmering red veins edged each point. Even dried out under the sun, they were still brightly colored.

“C’mon, we can’t keep Hunk waiting. It’s very important work. He’s the only person who ever succeeded making the tea for the Faded, though many people try.” Keith said, holding out his helmet like a basket as Shiro dropped the dried leaves inside. Fireflies raced with them as they chased each other through Hunk’s garden, gathering up as many leaves as they could cram into Keith’s golden helmet. With a shout of victory, Shiro caught one of the little lights and held it out for Keith to see, the blinking glow peeking through his fingertips.

“I don’t know how they carry me here when I’m so much bigger than them.” He said, opening his fingers just slightly to watch the little creature.

“That’s because they carry your heart! It’s not heavy yet, you’re still small.” Keith said with a knowing nod. “It’s how they bring the Faded here, souls are light enough for the fireflies.”

“But how come they can’t carry you?” Shiro opened his hands and the firefly fluttered up in the air, circling around the boys’ heads before zig-zagging back to dance with the others. “You’re a spirit, that means you’re not heavy either. Could the fireflies bring you back to my world?”

“No.” Keith fidgeted, looking uncomfortable. “Spirits can’t make the trip. We’re _too_ light. There’s nothing to hold us together. If I tried to travel on to the fireflies, I’d turn to mist in your world and disappear forever.”

Their task was forgotten as Shiro ached for his friend. “I’m going to find a way to keep coming back, no matter how big I get.” He promised fiercely, reaching out to take Keith’s hand in his. The little Guardian flushed, giving his friend’s fingers a gentle squeeze.

“Do you promise that you will? You won’t forget the way when you get to big?”

“I promise. I’ll always find my way back to you, even when you’re a big guardian too.”

The hand holding was nice. It just wasn’t enough. Shiro stumbled forward, dragging Keith close and hugging him as tight as he could. He knocked Keith’s helmet out of his hands, but it didn’t matter, when the guardian hugged him right back, his face pressed into the Dreamer’s shoulder. Even when he closed his eyes, he could see Shiro’s bright glow. If it wasn’t for the red on his injured hands, Keith would have wondered if he was one of the gods, too.

“Come on, guys.” Hunk called from the far end of the yard, balancing two large wicker dishes in one hand, and three more in the other. They were round and almost large enough for one of the boys to lie down in. Over Keith’s head, Shiro watched with wide eyes as the Tea Maker jogged between the rows, threatening to topple over with every step, but he didn’t drop so much as a single leaf. “Keep up!”

Shiro did a double take, completely gobsmacked, until Keith flicked him in the ear and took off running. They raced up and down the yard, collecting as many dried herbs as they could from the Tea Maker’s seemingly endless supply, and when it was all over, they were exhausted. They plopped down in a tired heap in the middle of Hunk’s sitting room, while their host padded around in the kitchen outside the home. When Hunk returned, he brought the scents of fragrant herbs and sweet fruits, rich and sweet and fresh, and something about it just made Shiro’s head spin…

“Oh! Oh sorry, sorry. I forget sometimes how sensitive Dreamers are.”

“Huh?” Shiro looked up dazed as Hunk laughed and plopped himself down across from the other boys, mixing the leaves with water to steep.

“It’s the tea!” He said cheerfully as Keith leaned closer to get a look at the brew, sniffing in the sweet scent and watching Shiro curiously. “It’s my special blend. All the Faded pass through here on their way to the next life and I help them forget. Make sure you don’t drink any or you’ll forget everything about who you are.”

That got Shiro’s attention and he shook his head to clear the gentle fogginess that settled in his brain from just the smell of the tea. “You make them forget who they were? That sounds terrible!”

Hunk laughed and added a few more leaves to the brew. “Of course it isn’t. The Faded who are ready for their next life need to be free from everything that keeps them chained to this one. They get a new chance to live, a new spin on the wheel. Sometimes it takes them lots of chances before they’re ready to be free from the cycle, but until then, I help them start all over again so they can.” He winked at Shiro. “It wouldn’t be any fun being a kid if you had to worry about old people problems, right?”

It made sense, but Shiro didn’t know if he liked the thought of losing all his memories. Had it already happened to him before? It made his head hurt. Keith scooted over protectively, leaning against him until he smiled again. “It’s like the spirits on the beach, and the firefighter, right? They couldn’t move on.”

“But what about the good things?” Shiro asked nervously. He sneaked another glance at Keith. He’d only just promised that he would always come back. Keith was a spirit. What if they didn’t grow like humans did? What if Shiro died, and Keith was still out there, waiting for him to return? The possibility made his head hurt. “Wouldn’t you want to remember the good things?”

Something flickered over Hunk’s features, an awareness that gave Shiro pause, and the Tea Maker closed the lid on his kettle, stowing it away with ceremonial respect. When he turned his full attention on the young Dreamer, Shiro had to fight the urge to shy away.

It was ridiculous, he told himself. He was taller than Hunk! He could take him! But the spirit took his hand in both of his, and Shiro felt like he was one foot tall.

“You can’t just take away all the bad someone knows. You’ll change them, and that’ll hurt them. All the good things and all the bad things you know make up who you are. For better or for worse.”

“But what if you like who you are?” Shiro insisted. “What if you don’t want to be someone else?”

“Sometimes people don’t want to move on.” Hunk said sadly. “Sometimes they’re not ready to go, there’s too many things left undone or they’re too afraid to drink with me and find their way up the mountain. The ones who turn away wander lost, they’re so consumed by their fear or anger that they eventually lose everything they were anyways.”

Hunk scooted closer to the two boys and smiled, pulling out one last almond cookie and handing it to Shiro. “Who you were lives on in the hearts of those who love you, so  _you_  are never really gone. But you can’t be afraid of letting go when it’s time. That cookie is delicious, but only if you eat it and then it’s gone. It makes you happy, so enjoy it while you have it and remember how much you liked it when you’re done. If you try to keep it, it’ll just get gross.” He stuck out his tongue and startled a laugh from Shiro.

“I guess.” Shiro said, nibbling on the cookie before breaking off a piece to share with Keith.

“Besides, you don’t have to do it alone. You’ll have a guardian of your very own to protect you.” Hunk seemed smug and ignored the way Keith scowled jealously, but that just reminded Shiro of the reason they’d made the journey.

“Oh! Keith doesn’t have anyone to guard, he hasn’t been able to find his Faded. Lance said you might be able to help?”

“Lance. The mouthy retainer.” Keith supplied in a matter-of-fact tone, but Hunk didn’t seem surprised.

“He knows how to flatter a guy,” The Tea Maker laughed. “But I can’t help you there, bro. Sorry. I would if I could.”

For a moment, Shiro was sure that he felt the eyes of their host focused on him, but Hunk never looked away from Keith. “I know someone who might though, if she’s taking calls. The Sky Goddess knows all.”

“The Sky Goddess!” Keith repeated with a little gasp, uttering a prayer under his breath and bowing. Hunk recited the chant with him.

Shiro frowned. “Who is…?” He’d rather not say her name though, lest he set off another round of prayers.

“Someone who knows all.” Hunk grinned. He looked supremely untroubled, but he repeated that same little verse as well and inclined his head in respect. “Have a drink with me before you go. You can’t find the Sky Goddess unless she wants to be found anyway.”

Shiro was incredibly relieved that Hunk had another tea set for guests, and they toasted to their good health. When they left the guardian bowed so low, his forehead almost touched the ground, and Shiro could do no less, but as he rose, he met the Tea Makers eyes. Shiro saw galaxies in them. Wisdom and kindness far beyond his years, far beyond their lives, and another face hiding behind his guileless smile.

“Be strong, Young Master Dreamer,” Hunk pleaded, and his tone whispered a patience older than time. Shiro didn’t know what to do.

Keith grabbed his arm and with one last wave at the Tea Maker, the boys chased each other from the small house and out into the winding streets. Overhead, the sun was starting to set behind the mountains and shadows lengthened beside them. Shiro and Keith never noticed the shadows taking on a life of their own, chasing and teasing each other as merrily as their owners.

The fireflies flickered in greater numbers, joining in the dance as the boys laughed together. Keith tackled him and they both tumbled under the weight of his golden armor.

“Help, you’re crushing me!” Shiro flailed as Keith squished his face between his hands.

“I’m not the one who keeps getting bigger. Stop being so tall.” Keith scolded, his words teasing but a little bit of worry in his voice.

“I’ll try.” They flopped back on the cool crash, watching the fireflies try to woo down the stars with their lights. “Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t ever want to forget you.”

Keith curled against his friend, holding on tight. “Me neither.”

Shiro woke hugging his pillow, the little statue nestled close beside him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

When Shiro was ten, he dreamed he was tripping on star light. The skies were filled with all the colors of the rainbows that splashed with the sound of gunfire. Beneath him the ground twisted like a kaleidoscope of color, fragrant thick smoke obscuring the earth, and in the way of dreams, he knew without reason that he wasn’t alone. Shiro was laughing or maybe he was screaming. It was hard to tell as he clamped his hands over his ears, but warm steady arms drew him in, and a familiar grin welcomed him back.

  
“Keith,” Shiro sighed with relief as his feet touched the furry mane of his guardian’s lion. Then his eyes widened in horror, arms flailing in panic. “KEITH!”  
  
He was plucked up by the back of his collar, like a temperamental kitten, kicking and squealing and over the explosions that lit the sky, he heard her laugh, bright with mischief, and Keith snarled, “Get your own Shiro!”  
  
But it was too late. The race was on.

Shiro yelped as he was dragged through the glittering fireworks like he was weightless, the spirit who held him flitting through the sparkling embers with the agility of a bird. She cheered as a rocket zipped through the air right in front of them, almost blowing them out of the sky before it exploded in a shower of silver.

Behind them, Keith howled in rage, urging his lion faster as it raced through the sky behind them. He waved his knife menacingly, but he was too far away to catch the flighty spirit as she lost him in a hail of sparks.

“Your friend can’t catch what he can’t see.” She crowed, as they hovered by a giant temple.

The temple was a masterpiece. It seemed to be made entirely out of gold, from its pyramid-shaped roofs to its railings. Every floor was carved in a slightly different way, and Shiro could see powerful beasts, brave warriors, and fair nobles peppered across its structure. It was perched on the very edge of a river that reflected its splendor. In the yard, lights blazed from every corner, illuminating well-tended shrines glinting with thick paper rolls, fresh fruits, and other offerings. Clouds of perfumed incense rose like clouds and drifted over the nearby lake where small paper boats and glowing lanterns bobbed gently in the current.

“Where are we? Who  _are_  you?”

The spirit landed on the highest peak, balancing on her toes, glasses catching the light with a gleam as she smiled. She was a short spirit, round glasses taking up most of her face and messy hair pinned in place by thin lit candles. She looked more like a ruffled pigeon than anything. 

“I’m the Master of Fireworks, I invented all the ones you see!” The pigeon spirit threw her arms up to the sky, and Shiro clung to her to keep from falling. She was even tinier than Keith!

“But I should be asking you that,” she said with a pointed grin. “What’s a Dreamer and his grumpy guardian doing at my festival?”

“I - wha- Keith’s not my guardian!” Shiro stumbled over an apology and his embarrassment, but he couldn’t quite hide that trickle of inexplicable pride that curled up in his chest. Even if she was so mistaken! “I’m just visiting! And I’m a Dreamer. Dreamers can’t have guardians.”

The Master clucked her tongue, didn’t even bother to hide her disbelief. “Well, visitor, I’m going to give you the grand tour, and let’s see if your  _not guardian_ gets the message.”

Shiro thought he really should have said no. Keith was looking for him, but his stomach growled its answer for him. He laughed, and the spirit took his hand. Then they were flying through the temple. A roar of welcome greeted them, and everywhere Shiro looked, there were long tables loaded with food of every kind. Whenever a dish emptied, a different one took its place, and both were carried on the backs of tiny wooden sprites. Surrounding each table were souls in brightly colored silks. One moment, their faces hidden behind the terrible masks of wolves and moths and foxes and snakes, the next they were laughing with the tinkling of bells, and Shiro saw beautiful men and women with long flowing hair, folded atop their head with beads and string. They all called to the Master, and she bowed and twirled, until Shiro had to hold on lest he be thrown across the sky.

Shiro soon found himself with a steamed meat bun in each hand and his pockets stuffed with treats. They watched the rest of the Master’s creations, perched on a golden port that stretched out across the river. An explosion of light greeted them, and Shiro clapped with his full hands.

“What is this?! Are you the Sky Goddess!”

The Master burst out laughing and nearly rolled into the water. She uttered a familiar little prayer verse, and shook her head. “No way! Dreamers are silly. But I tend her shrines, and make sure the Faded don’t get hurt at the Feasts.”

Shiro frowned. She didn’t look like any guardian he’d ever seen. “Hurt by what?”

No sooner had he spoken did movement at the corner of his eyes draw his gaze. A soft rustling snaked through the shadows, slithering between the glowing lights of the lanterns. It rattled like bone, a low and heart-rending moan of desperation that made them both shiver. The darkness grew, sucking the light from the edges of the candles with the cold exhale of death. It came from the water - no  _over_  it, rising from the shadows with supernatural grace. He thought they were the Faded at first, but their bodies twisted and shifted, hinting at countless horrors.

“Shiro, get down!”

Shiro turned to find Keith holding an almost comically large cylinder over his shoulder. The canon was taller than the little guardian, though not by much, and the fangs of a powerful dragon closed over its opening. Its long body was decorated with hand-painted scales that seemed to sway in the light, and it ended with a powerful fish tail. The dragon’s eyes were half-lidded, lest its open gaze attract one of the creatures it was modeled after.

Shiro had just enough time to duck before Keith released his shot. In a flash, the canon looked like it had come to life, and the dragon breathed fire. Then the sky exploded with color. The shadows fled with an inhuman scream, scattering in all directions as their host whooped and cheered.

“Not bad, guardian,” the Master nodded. “But next time, don’t touch my things.”

“Well, you shouldn’t touch mine, Pigeon face!” Keith grumbled, check over Shiro to make sure he was all in one piece. Even when he made sure there wasn’t any lasting harm, he refused to let go, draping himself protectively across his friend and glaring at the little girl.

She straightened her glass and gave them both a salute. “I couldn’t help it, a Dreamer like him is a tasty treat for the hungry ghosts and I wasn’t sure his little guardian could help.”

“I’m not his-” Keith’s argument faltered and he squeezed Shiro tighter. “I won’t let any of them get near Shiro, he’s my friend.”

“What’s a hungry ghost?” Shiro asked, confused but patting Keith on the top of his helmet to calm him down. “Don’t worry, I’m going to be fine.”

The girl giggled and poked Shiro in the gut hard enough to make him oomf. “Sometimes spirits don’t want to follow their way. They’re too angry, too full of things they still want on earth. They refuse to move on and they become twisted. They’re hungry for the things they can’t have any more and they’re drawn to anything that reminds them of life. That means you, Mr. Dreamer guy!”

Shiro gulped as Keith scowled, reaching for his knife. “They can try to touch Shiro, but I won’t let them get anywhere near him.”

“I certainly hope not!” The littlest spirit clucked. Then for Shiro’s benefit, she added, “That’s why we’re celebrating. The loved ones of our Faded and Reborn come with offerings and lanterns, to celebrate the memory of those who are no longer with them. The Faded move on, but those left behind remember all the good from life and bring them honor. And the offerings keep the spirits happy and the lanterns help the lost find their way. There’s always a few Faded who refuse to follow, but they’re scared of my fireworks and that’ll drive them away.”

“Wow.” Shiro intoned, eyes wide before he took a bite out of his steamed bun. He offered one to Keith who eyed it warily, then took a bite without relinquishing his hold on his knife or Shiro. “You made everything?”

“All the glows and all that pops.” She replied proudly, jutting her chin out at a jaunty angle. “All handmade. Sometimes my brother helps too.”

“Thank you, Master Builder.” Keith said, more formal than he entirely enjoyed, but his ruffled feathers soothed every second Shiro handed him another snack. “But we should get going. The lanterns are sailing.”

“Can we see them first?” Shiro pleaded. “Don’t worry. Keith won’t let anyone eat me… Right?”

“Of course!” Keith huffed, only to squint suspiciously. He felt oddly like he’d given into something he shouldn’t have wanted to, but Shiro was beaming at him and Keith felt his face grow hot. Beside him, the Master of Fireworks snickered.

“I’m not worried, Shiro. You might not have a guardian but you have a Keith.”

“And that’s even better.” Shiro agreed. Keith couldn’t look at anyone, heart swelling with pride and the chance to prove himself. Just because he wasn’t a grown guardian yet didn’t mean he couldn’t protect his friend! He’d show them he was the best.

The Master laughed as she rose into the air and disappeared behind colorful sparks. The night seemed brighter where she’d been.

The friends climbed down to the water’s edge. Without warning, Shiro lunged at his guardian’s back, roaring as he wrapped his arms and legs around the shorter boy, and Keith shrieked.

They wrestled and tumbled down to the water, laughing the entire way. Shiro realized how much taller he was than Keith now, the years starting to show. It was all happening too fast and when they finally landed in the soft earth by the water, breathing hard, he turned into his friend and hugged him tight. It meant all the things he didn’t know how to say, the long months without dreams when he thought he’d never find his way back to his best friend and the relief that they were both here, in this beautiful place together.

Keith reached out for him. Shiro shuddered as he felt ghostly fingers across his cheeks. He forgot sometimes, just how different Keith was from everyone he knew, and it made his heart ache in ways he didn’t know it could, and a new sort of fear stole his voice. Without warning, Keith rolled away. “Look out on the river.”

“The lanterns!” Shiro gasped in surprise. When the Master of Fireworks had stolen him away, they’d been too far for him to see the painstaking details that each lantern had. They were colorful and bright, shadows and flame playing at a courting dance that gave each light. They came in different shapes and sizes, some crafted to look like simple boats, bobbing along the river. Others took the shape of transparent fish, their paper cut so shadows looked like scales. It looked like all manner of skill had made them, some floated miraculously with the charm of a child’s first attempt, while others sailed with the mastery of artists. “Where do they all come from?”

But Keith didn’t answer. His face was screwed up in concentration, tongue between his teeth as he fussed with his uniform before lucking out a silk handkerchief from beneath its folds. It was as gold as the plates that gave him his title, and he waved it out in the gentle breeze. Before Shiro’s eyes, the handkerchief grew and thinned, until he swore he could see through it. Then Keith took a few sticks of wood from the grass around them and constructed a simple box lantern. Shiro was in awe.

“Do you wanna light it?” Keith asked with too much hope and no small measure of shyness.

“I don’t know how.” He was almost afraid to touch it, but Keith put it in his hands, and like his friend, Shiro realized his creation was stronger than it looked.

“You wish.” Keith explained, and the spirit made a conscious effort not to sound teasing. “You think real hard about what you want and you send it to the gods. If you wish hard enough, you send a piece of yourself with it, and it becomes more powerful.”

“To the Sky Goddess?” Shiro tried to recite the prayer the others always used when mentioning her. Keith helped him finish it, before he shrugged.

“If you want to. She’s not the only one who listens.”

Shiro held the lantern gently, screwing his face up with concentration, and he felt Keith’s hands cover his. There was a spark of something, a tremor of power that tugged from his heart and raced to the very ends of his finger tips, and when he opened his eyes, Keith’s face was bathed in lantern light. He almost looked human.

 _I should have wished for that,_  Shiro realized, and he had to look away. Together, they moved the lantern into the river and gave it a gentle push. The current worked with it, gently coaxing it down the river, and Shiro felt like he’d done something important. Something he couldn’t step back from.

“You know, I wish you could be my guardian.” He said quietly, heart thumping harder than normal. It used to be easy to tell Keith how he felt, but he was older now and his tongue got in the way of all the feelings he didn’t understand.

“Don’t say it out loud! It might not happen!” Keith chastised, eyes wide with flustered concern, but wisps of pink curled across his cheeks, and Shiro couldn’t find himself to regret it. Keith pushed his helmet back to look at Shiro, finally wiggling free of the Dreamer’s arms but leaning into his friend’s space. “I wish I could go with you.” He finally said as Shiro shook his head fiercely.

“You said you’d turn to mist if you tried, I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’ll keep coming back, you’ll see. I made it back this time, right?”

Keith looked away, mouth pinched in an unhappy line, and when he met Shiro’s gaze, it was with an intensity that took the Dreamer’s breath away. “I always wait for you. Even if I know I shouldn’t.”

Then he leaned in, and ever so carefully kissed the curve of Shiro’s cheek.

Shiro flushed, the light in his skin brightening like a beacon in the darkness, a reddish-gold glow surrounding them both. Keith was fascinated by the light, but Shiro couldn’t look away from his friend’s face, all of his emotions crammed into his chest until he thought his ribs would crack under the pressure.

Around them, the lanterns bobbed in the gentle current of the river to guide the lost spirits home and the spicy smoky incense from the temple wrapped around them. Shiro held his breath, closed his eyes, and leaned forward to return with a different kiss. It was a chaste press of lips, quick and gentle and over in a moment, but powerful enough to leave them both speechless.

They stared at each other in shock, hands held tight and unsure what to say as the fireflies settled around them.

“Shiro look,” Keith called out softly, and Shiro obediently turned. The last thing he saw were a great many ghosts, emerging from the depths of the temple. They moved across the water, following each bobbing lantern. As they walked, the procession of Faded gathered around them, caregivers first, then entertainers, and protecting them all, the guardians.

They were hungry no more.

Shiro woke up in the morning in twisted sheets, his pillow damp with tears and the statue of his guardian astride his little lion clutched tightly in his hand. They never had enough time.

 


	5. Chapter 5

When Shiro was eleven, his father died. It was sudden. It was quiet. Shiro didn’t know anything happened until he came home from school, to find his mother waiting for him in the living room. He thought he should have felt something, thought the universe owed him a sign, a warning, but it never came.

The funeral happened on a Wednesday. Shiro wore squeaky new shoes, the most expensive he’d ever owned, and stared out at a sea of black, broken only by the snow white robes his grandparents wore as they clutched their beads and one another. There were too many people he didn’t know, and even if he wanted to be there for his mother, it was just easier to move away.  _He needs to grieve,_  the guests told his mother as they pressed silver envelopes into her hand. Then they would turn around and tell him  _take care of her; you’re the man of the house now._

The incense made his nose itch, and he remembered just wanting everything to be over. He was okay, he thought. Or at least he would be. Then they got to the crematorium, and Shiro wouldn’t stop crying.

He placed the little guardian statue on his father’s shrine to protect him and left it behind.

When Shiro was eleven, his father died.

For a long time, he didn’t dream.

 


	6. Chapter 6

When Shiro was twelve, he was quiet. He was a serious boy who rarely smiled, heart too heavy for the fireflies to carry. He traded his bright hopeful innocence for responsibility and obligation, too tired each night to even dream. Worries and anxieties followed at his heels, too afraid to face the world after his father died now that anyone he knew could be so easily taken away forever. Death felt like a monster and Shiro hid himself away from it, shutting out the rest of the world.

Eventually, he even forgot about the dreams and the friend he’d left behind.

But even if he couldn’t find his way back through his dreams, the nightmares found him first. Shiro opened his eyes and looked out at a world of darkness that spread like inky slime across the open rice paddies and bamboo groves, polluting the ocean, and smothering the grasslands. From his perch on top of a mountain, he could see the world spread out beneath his feet as storms raged overhead, angry swirling clouds that crackled with lightning.

Shiro stumbled back with a cry of fear as an inhuman roar rattled the very stone beneath his feet and he ran blindly through the darkness, looking for anywhere to hide in the crumbling ruins of an old temple.

With every step he took, a world he’d never seen but a world he knew in his bones called out to him, blurring his thoughts and claiming his mind until Shiro thought he would fall apart.

That was when he heard the crying, so soft at first, he was certain it must have come from his own heart, but it grew louder and louder as he tore is way through the temple. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

She had smooth dark skin and long hair cascaded down her back, like clouds down a mountain. White robes draped around her, seemingly untouched by the dirt and debris that marred the hall. When she turned to him, Shiro noticed the ornate necklace that adorned her throat, like something he’d expect only the most powerful nobles to wear, and the precious gem stone that sat in the center of her forehead. In the way of dreams, he knew that she had many faces and many forms, but this was what she’d chosen for their moment.

She wept like her heart could take no more, and he felt her sorrow like it was his own, and it brought him to his knees.

“You have forgotten me, Dreamer.” She whispered when she spoke, for if she didn’t, her voice would bring the world down around her with the strength of her power.

“No,” Shiro rasped, already breathless in his awe, tears streaking down his face. “No I could never.” It was impossible. No one could meet her and not be moved, not be shaken to their very core.

“You have forgotten my world. So you have forgotten me, and now a Beast lives in the place of Mercy.”

“ _Please_.” He moaned, tearing at his hair, hunched over and trembling. “Please make it stop. Tell me what to do to make it stop. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

“I am sorry. I truly am. You do not deserve this burden, but some pains will follow you wherever you may go.” Careful hands covered his own, gently stilling them before Shiro could hurt himself.

“I could have done something! I should have known! I could have stopped it, if I just, if I just-!” He howled and thrashed, but she pulled him close and held him with almost laughable ease. Shiro didn’t notice. He raged against her, tried to hit her, fight her, until he was spent and crying in her arms.

“Impossible,” she whispered. “That would require more power than any human possessed. No one would ever blame you for your fears. When a human’s time comes, nothing can change that no matter how hard you try. It is not your fault, child. ” She kissed his brow. “You cannot change the past, but the Beast does not have to reign forever.”

“How can we stop it?” He pleaded, wincing as the creature’s roar thundered through the air. The old temple crumbled around them, buts of stone falling from broken roofs and statues toppling. It had been a beautiful place once, but the smog from the creature’s breath had stained the bright metal a dull and tarnished black. The only untouched thing was the goddess, beautiful and perfect, skin glowing with its own shine like the warmest gold and the darkest earth. She wore stars as freckles dusted along her cheeks, the moon pinned in her hair with a jade comb.

“We fight.” It was a simple answer and Shiro shook in terror as she formed a sword from the air.

“You can’t, my lady!” He gasped. “Let me fight it, you can’t take on such a dangerous beast yourself.”

The goddess smiled, kind and fierce. “Do you think that I would not defend my own kingdom, little Dreamer? Mercy can be soft and compassionate, or as hard as steel. We fight together. Besides,” She touched the side of his face with her fingertips and Shiro flushed red. “You have an important part to play. The In Between is shaped by those who pass through it, don’t forget that.”

The warrior goddess gestured for the Shiro to follow and he did without a word, stumbling over the broken stone path that wound up the mountain to the palace on top that had one belonged to the lady herself that the great Beast had claimed.  _What did she mean the In Between is shaped by those who pass through it?_  He remembered this world as being beautiful, stretched out in impossible distances in all directions and full of spirits, gods, and immortals. How had it changed into this bleak nightmare, had something forced it to change? How could  _he_  of all people save it?

They climbed the stone steps, each one taking them closer to the Beast. Shiro could almost feel the creature’s attention drawn to their journey. The air grew cold, sucking the strength from Shiro’s body and filling him with exhaustion. Fear weighed heavily on him, loss, grief, and anger. It was suffocating, smothering the boy until he could barely breathe and every step felt like a battle. All he wanted to do was turn around and go home, hide away in his room where nothing could ever find him. The goddess stopped and put a gentle hand to his shoulder and Shiro shivered.

“How am I supposed to fight a Beast without any kind of weapon? It’s going to kill me, my Lady!”

“It might,” she said seriously, “But you are not defenseless.”

A different voice answered. “You just have to remember. It will hurt, but not always.”

The voice was familiar, but it sounded so far away. Memories tried to claw to the surface of his mind, but the heavy fog seemed just as thick inside his skull as it was around the broken temple. Until Shiro saw her, in brilliant green robes that rippled in the wind, her smile harsh but determined. She had ash smudged on her cheek and wielded a terrifying canon over her shoulder. The Master of Fireworks wouldn’t let them stand alone.

She bowed low to the Sky Goddess, whispering a word of thanks under her breath before the Goddess bent down to brush a kiss against her brow. “Your timing is as impeccable as always, Master Builder.”

“Just following orders,” the spirit said, but she looked pleased. She moved to stand in front of Shiro. Almost a head shorter than he was, she still squeezed him in a tight embrace before holding out her canon. “I made it especially for you.”

Something about the scales made his heart clench. They were almost the brightest gold he’d ever seen. Almost.

She hugged his middle tightly, then took to the air with one final flourishing bow. The sound of exploding gun powder followed, and in the distance, the beast roared.

With his canon on his back, they continued their climb.

The temple walls had fallen away one by one. The damage was greater towards the top, and Shiro gasped as they came across a shattered balcony. He couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t recognized it at first, but from here he could see everything.  _The Cloud Country._  It was almost unrecognizable, devoid of the magic and that gave it so much light. The rivers had dried up, and flowers fallen to decay. The colorful streets were hidden in thick layers of smog.

“Quite a sight huh? Not what I was expecting. I thought there would be more clouds.”

Shiro turned in shock. Hovering over the edge, as easy as you please, was the long, sinuous form of a too familiar merboy. His scales twinkled like the purest sapphires, fighting through though they were covered as they were by dust and ash. “You-”

“Lance,” He corrected, tipping a wink at the other boy.

With a dragon’s grace, he moved to bow before the Sky Goddess, so low his forehead nearly touched the ground. He cleared his throat, speaking an obviously rehearsed spiel with great care, “Her Ladyship sends her blessing, and a gift for these trying times. She greatly desires to see the return of her sister country and prays for your triumph.”

It lasted up until the very end. “I told you I’d make it.”

“Har har.” As if out of thin air, a strong arm popped out to drag Lance into a clumsy hugged. Shiro inhaled sharply as the Tea Maker turned to him, his smile more restrained than he’d ever seen it, but it seemed to brighten whenever Lance moved closer. Hunk wielded a long staff like a weapon with unnerving grace. “It’s nicer when you’re here anyway, bro.”

Unlike the others, he merely inclined his head towards the Sky Goddess, a gesture she returned readily, and all at once, the air seemed warmer. “It is good to see you again, old friend.”

“Hunk, in this one, m’lady.” The Tea Maker replied, and gave his merboy a little squeeze when Lance stared at him in shock. “We’re all sorry it came to this, but it’ll be over soon. We found him just in time.”

“Then I’ll go first.” Lance said, squirming out of Hunk’s grasp, but he didn’t go very far. He took Shiro’s hand in his and looked him straight in the eye. Carefully, he pressed a small sphere into Shiro’s hand. It was smooth and cool against his palm, and when Shiro dared a glimpse at it, her Ladyship’s pearl glowed like the moon. “You can’t let anything hold you back. Not even yourself.”

Then Hunk was in front of him. Those sad, wise eyes in a child’s face sent shivers through the taller boy’s frame, and he felt heat pool behind his eyes.

“You’re going to do so well, Shiro.” He murmured gently. “Sometimes it’ll feel like you’re the only one struggling, and sometimes that’ll be true, but not as often as you think. It’s okay to let go.”

Then he carefully lowered a dried leaf into Shiro’s hand, right over her Ladyship’s pearl. Shiro couldn’t stop trembling.

“I’m scared.”

“It’s okay to be. I am too.” The Goddess said with a smile and more honesty than Shiro knew what to do with.  “Take all of your lessons to heart.”

“Wait, I don’t know what to call you!” He said, trying to keep her from leaving like he could hold on to a piece of her if he just knew how to call her back.

“I have so many names.” The Goddess said gently. “You call me Allura, but you knew that already. You are the Dreamer, after all.”

With a warrior’s cry, she launched herself forward, and Shiro’s friends followed her willingly into the darkness. Her sword swept forward like a column of light. The abyss moved, breathing in and out as it pulled itself free from the palace walls and ran liquid down to the barren earth. It shifted and reformed, splitting again and again until eight dragon heads howled its rage at the sky and spewed poison over the land.

Shiro shrieked, shrinking back in fear as he tried to hide himself behind one of the cracked columns of the palace. He couldn’t do this, it was too much. He couldn’t face this Beast. He was just a boy, how could anyone expect him to tackle a dragon made from nightmares and terror?

_He’s just a little boy_. Shiro could almost hear the voices echoing in his mind from faceless grownups who left offerings at his father’s shrine.  _It’s such a shame. He used to be such a happy child until this happened, now he’s too afraid_.

The firework canon from the little Pigeon girl trembled in his hands and he almost dropped the pearl, clutching all of his gifts tight to his chest. “What do I do?” He wailed, words swallowed up by the roaring beast and the sharp clang of the Goddess’s steel on scale.

Don’t let anything hold you back, Lance had taught him. Shiro’s shaking hands dropped the pearl into the mouth of the launcher.

It’s okay to let go, even if you’re afraid, Hunk had said over warm tea and friendly smiles. Shiro took the bright leaf and twisted it into a fuse.

Remember those who’ve gone and celebrate, Pigeon had laughed while fireworks boomed overhead as she lit the lanterns to guide them home. Shiro crawled out from his hiding place and aimed the launcher at the heart of the great writhing Beast.

The In Between is shaped by those who pass through it. What did it mean?! Shiro beat his hands against the sides of the canon, trying to get it to fire but there was no fire to light the wick. The dragon pulled the light into itself, swallowing the land and spreading link ink across earth and sky, even as the Goddess tried to fight it back. Tendrils of darkness snapped at Shiro’s toes and he scrambled back as they consumed the stones beneath his feet hungrily. “Come on, work. Please work.” He begged, but nothing happened.

A wish.

_You think real hard about what you want and you send it to the gods. If you wish hard enough, you send a piece of yourself with it, and it becomes more powerful._  

“Keith!” 

The memories flooded back, all of the adventures he had with his brave guardian friend and the spirits they’d saved along the way. He remembered the feel of starlight in his hair as the lion flew through the sky, the taste of the salt spray from the ocean, the weight of his best friend as they tussled in the tea fields together. The way his heart pounded when he’d pressed his lips to Keith’s.

Suddenly, Shiro understood. He planted his feet and faced the dragon as eight snarling heads turned towards him. A creature created from fear,  _his_  fear. He had been so afraid of death that he had turned their kingdom into a nightmare and he wouldn’t let himself run from it anymore. Soft rose-gold light bloomed in his heart as he held on to the thoughts of Keith. The guardian would be brave and Shiro wouldn’t do anything less if it meant saving this world, and especially his best friend. He plucked the spark from his chest, love and hope dancing in bright flames on his fingertips as he lit the wick.

The crackle of flame was his last warning.

A ball of light exploded from the end of his canon, showering the earth and sky in brightly colored sparks. It flared brighter than the sun, melting into the darkness that surrounded the Beast and swallowing its shadows. For one, glorious moment, the skies were blue, the memory of something vital and precious flitting across his eyes, and Shiro wondered if his father had made it this far.

Then the darkness parted, and out of it fell a small boy, rushing to the ground like a broken kite. Shiro raced closer, until he could spot the charred, dented plates of his guardian’s armor. The warm fur that lined it was reduced to ash. He’d lost his helmet somewhere. Keith looked so young, Shiro sobbed.

The world ground to a halt, beginning and ending where Shiro cradled his friend to his chest because they were the only ones left. The spirit coughed weakly, and Shiro pulled him in, tucking his face into his hair and rocking back and forth with tender care.

“Keith I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He felt weak, tired hands curl in the front of his shirt, and fat tears spilled past his closed eyes.

“You came back… I can’t believe you came back.” Maybe it was okay that Keith was crying, too.

_I never should have left. I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry. I’m tired, and I’m so sorry._ The words clogged in his throat, and all Shiro could whisper was a broken, feeble confession. “I did this.”

The Beast was gone, but the world around them lay in ruins, broken and battered in a sea of broken wounds. They’d won, but everything was in shambles. Shiro thought he could save them. He thought he could save himself.  Then Keith reached out for him, touched his cheek with a shaky hand. His eyes were feverishly bright, but his skin glowed with untapped power. The Kogane Spirit, Shiro remembered. Less than a name, more than a title. There was no one else like him.

“But, you can rebuild.”

Shiro sniffed, rubbing his nose against his sleeve and looked out at the world. If his fear of death could almost destroy the land of the spirits, then his joy from living could heal it. He hugged the guardian close, wiping soot from the Kogane’s cheek. No, not the Kogane, not anymore. He wasn’t just some golden guardian, he was Keith. He was Shiro’s best friend and he loved him.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut as gods and spirits drew closer, all the friends that he’d made along the way lending him their powers once again. Then, the Dreamer dreamed.

He dreamed of bright oceans and white sand beaches with jeweled flowers that tipped into the surf. He dreamed about perfect pearls, teasing merboys, and wise, caring tea makers. He dreamed about brilliant inventors, explosions of colors over calm waters. Of never-ending grasslands, misty mountains, and endless green forests. He build ancient temples in his mind, sprawling gilded castles fit for goddesses. He dusted stars across the sky, set the sun shining bright above, lit the world with the power of his beating heart.

When he opened his eyes, he was almost blinded by the colors and the sparkle of sunlight against Keith’s armor.  

“Keith!” He clung to his friend, laughing and crying so hard he didn’t know which would win out at the end. The guardian wiped the tears from his own cheeks, resting their foreheads together.

“I knew you could do it.” He murmured, but Shiro shook his head.

“I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m so sorry about forgetting and being afraid. I’m sorry for everything.”

“You came back like you promised, that’s enough for me.”

“Now, little Dreamer,” the Goddess said gently. “You should go home. It’s not time for you to follow the way here, there’s still so much life for you to lead before you see us again. Don’t fear the end of your journey, cherish every moment of happiness you have along the way.”

“But I-,” Shiro tightened his arms around Keith. “Do I have to leave him too?” The guardian looked stricken, burying his face into Shiro’s shoulder and refusing to move.

“I think your guardian has finally found his place, but it’s not here.” The goddess smiled. “You shaped him too. You gave him a human name and a human heart. He’s more than just mist now. Isn’t that right, Keith?”

“I want to be. I need him.” He insisted, looking from one face to the next, stubbornly sticking close until Shiro shook his head, decisively.

“I won’t go back without him. I won’t leave you anymore.” Allura’s smile was gentle and warm, but Shiro pressed in closer, like there was any chance she would take his best friend away. “Please?” He whispered. “ _Please.”_

The world around them started to fade as the dancing lights returned. Shiro’s heart hammered in his chest, fear leaving him buzzing as Keith’s hands tightened around his shoulders.

“I’ll find you,” Keith swore, a trickle of unfamiliar energy coursing through his veins. He really was too light, too much of a spirit, too  _heartless,_  and he’d taken a terrible risk. “I always find you!”

Shiro held on until his arms ached, sharing every beat of his heart and every breath, hope and love burning bright to show them the way.

When Shiro was twelve, he woke up with his arms wrapped around his best friend and tears on his cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> For a reference:
> 
> Kogane - Means gold (literally "yellow metal") in Japanese.
> 
> [Kkoktu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kkoktu) \- Little figures believed to protect the dead during their trip to the afterlife in Korean myths. They come in three types: The Guardian, the Caregiver who serves the dead spirit, and the entertainers.
> 
> [Pocong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocong) \- Indonesian ghosts that are trapped in their burial shrouds and need to be cut free. If they're not free, they hop out of their graves looking for someone to help them.
> 
> [ Meng Po](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meng_Po) \- The Chinese Goddess of forgetfulness who brews a tea that helps ghosts forget their past memories on their way to reincarnation.
> 
> [Hungry Ghost Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival) \- A celebration in many East and South-East Asian countries where families gather to honor the dead. This festival often includes leaving offerings and food out for the dead, burning incense, and lighting lanterns to guide the dead back to the underworld.


End file.
